Mercer's Restaurant

Have been wanting to try Mercers for sometime so, what better time to do it than our anniversary. I’ve been to fine dining before, and this simply wasn’t it. The place is in desperate need of an upgrade. The building itself is beautiful, and with a bit of love and a paint, it could really shine. The decor is stuck in the 90’s, as is the food. Felt like I was in an episode of ‘come dine with me’, not at a restaurant where I’m paying $115 a head. Not really the culinary experience we were hoping for. Waitress was lovely and friendly, very laid back. We spent $300 including wine and came away unimpressed.

Great food, attentive discrete service, enough room to enjoy the evening, barely noticed the other diners. They even adjusted the set menu to suit one of our group. Highly recommend for a special night out. Food: 5/5

In 2022 the choice is between 4 or 6 courses, with or without matching wines. Any combination is close to superb. Mercer's is somewhere we will return to again and again as long as Ute and Steve can keep it going!Food: 5/5

Beautifully presented and fantastic flavours. Highly recommend the 6 course degustation at a very reasonable price <$18/dish. Staff were very friendly and attentive and the four of us had a fabulous night. Many thanks!

Ordered the three course meal and each dish is meticulously prepared and we'll presented. Enjoyed the porterhouse and quail very much. Great service from moment we stepped in. Attentive and efficient. Parking is available off the street. Will come back again.

Dishes were well presented. I had the Japanese inspired raw meet starter, and it was delicious. The chocolate mouse was probably one of the top ones I have tasted, and the presentation was stunning. Mains were good. The staff were very friendly and atmosphere excellent. Will come back.

You can’t go wrong at Mercer’s. You will feel at home, but also like you’re being treated to a very special night out. Front of house staff will serve you with the greatest attention to detail and the meals are presented impeccably. Beautiful food, excellent service and an extensive, well thought out wine list. Always an amazing and fun experience eating Stephen’s food.

Stunning food with excellent wine pairings in a beautiful setting with considerate, friendly wait staff.Food: 5/5

Went here for the first time tonight and to say it was incredible is an understatement. Amazing food, amazing service and amazing experience. We'll be attending again for sure.

A request to catch up as a celebration. A promise that it would be something worth writing about. It was both. Here’s why Mercers in Eltham has inspired me to have a ranking list. Located on the main road of Eltham, this place is really tricky to find the entrance to their parking slot. This is LITERALLY the only thing that is wrong with this place. Given that I had travelled over 30 minutes to get to the restaurant, I was not going to let something as insignificant as being unable to find the entrance stop me. Although asking Nigel in that present moment would have gained a different result. The place looks like a home from the outside and true to it’s exterior, the inside features a comfy homely feeling. Look, if I am honest, I am really annoyed that I didn’t take a photo of the inside. I was too busy being stunned by the attentive service and great way we were treated. Clearly my companions C Squared are regulars and are a first name basis. As such, I had to do a little digging and I found out that this is a husband and wife team Stephen and Ute Mercer and have been winning the Age Good Food Guide Awards since 1999! You have to go check out their website for all the photos that I didn’t take. And now… the food. Before the meal even started, we were treated to an onion, pumpkin and spiced soup shot glasses. It was so ridiculously well presented, I didn’t want to drink it. And once I did, I needed more of it! Mercers had my attention. For entree, I had the Beef Salad: Porterhouse cured, seared and raw with honey wasabi pearls and salted egg yolk. Now. If anyone knows me, knows that I am always dubious of food that is overly well presented. I have had cases where I have spent more than a shiny penny $200 AUD for a meal only to be utterly dissapointed. As such, I was cautious as to how this would fill me up. Then again, the soup shot, was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. What surprised me were the flavours. Every bite oozed a certain sense of class and delicate, attentive focus to the creation of this amazing meal. I consumed literally everything on the plate. The wasabi pearls were the highlight – the sense of spice that melted in your mouth is an experience that you need to go in and try for yourself. Once that was done, it was on to the mains: Pig bits; belly, strudel and rib with roasted young vegetables and calvados jus. Dubious? Still a little. First bite. And I was convinced that the chef must have Godly hands. The meat just melted away from the bone. Literally fell away. And then the pork belly. Oh. My. God. Just, OMG. Seared crispy on one side, the flavour infused into it is literally unlike anything I have come across. This was it. The whole saying, “stick a fork in it. It’s done” – yeah, that was me! Unknowingly, I had also become full. How Mercer…. how did you manage to do that?! Maybe it was the Twice cooked Désirée potatoes with rosemary salt and truffle aioli. And still, I had dessert? Are you kidding me? I was ready to be rolled out of that restaurant. Alas, I had chosen the red velvet souffle featuring raspberry and chocolate… because it was red velvet. I was done. This is the pure definition of heaven. Some of the food was hard even though they looked fluffy and soft and alteranitvely there were items that reversed the role. The souffle was perfect. The oozing chocolate? Heavenly. Ladies and Gentlemen, I was ready to call it. If I had to die and go to heaven, this is the one place I would like to call home. Forever. Without a doubt, Mercers have unequivocally won the title of the best restaurant that I have had the pleasure of dining at. The literal BEST. Every other restaurant, take note. This is the standard that I, Nigel, will be holding as your yardstick. And if you are considered fine dining….bring your A Game. C squared, I will keep my promise to you. Thank you for treating to me such an amazing experience, nestled in the suburbs of Melbourne. Oh my readers – the places I will help you find! Won’t you join me and follow my blog?